LAHORE: Final interviews of corporals for the new Anti-Terrorism Force are starting at five places in the province from Feb 13.

The final selection of 41 retired army officers on a shortlist for the 11 posts of the nucleus staff is also starting in Lahore from Thursday.

A committee headed by the provincial chief secretary had interviewed around 400 army officers for the nucleus staff for the proposed force, shortlisting 41 of them for selection, official sources told Dawn on Tuesday.

Of the around 50,000 applicants who had applied for 1,500 posts of corporals, 2,900 were shortlisted after physical and written tests. They include around 500 women.

Sources said that the final interviews were being held after the psychology tests conducted to check the bent of mind of the applicants.

They said to ensure transparency only the results of the psychology tests would be shared with the selection committees in Lahore, Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Bahawalpur and Multan. It was also being considered to make the selection at a single place.

Sources said after approval by the chief minister, the government was purchasing sophisticated weapons such as sniper rifles and automatic pistols for the training of the selected corporals, initially at the Elite Police Training School, being engaged for one year.

Training courses and different modules like for intelligence were also being developed for the force which would be given helicopters for combat operations. Land for a permanent training school for the new force was being selected in different cities but it would most probably be set up in Jhelum.